THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF liaison committee, which met here on Thursday, rated the Aruvikkara bypoll win as a political victory of the front. “The UDF is very much indebted to the people of Aruvikkara for handing out such a favourable mandate,” UDF convenor P P Thankachan told mediapersons after the meet.
“The UDF is not overjoyed at the victory. The government will move ahead to fulfil the aspirations of the people in the development and welfare front,” he said.
Thankachan said that the meet had attributed the victory to a host of factors such as the UDF putting a united foot, lots of love and affection of the electorate for the late G Karthikeyan and a strong resentment of the people towards the politics of violence and murder espoused by the CPM, apart from the good rating given for the four years of performance of the Oommen Chandy government.
The Opposition campaign in Aruvikkara was focused to gain an anti-corruption face and votes through it, but the irony of it was that it was driven by roping in the likes of R Balakrishna Pillai, who was behind bars for proven corruption charges and his son K B Ganesh Kumar. “They have also drawn support from P C George who was found guilty and convicted by a trial court in a corruption case for facilitating sanction to start a plus-two school,” he said.
To a query on booting P C George from the UDF stable, he said that it was for the Kerala Congress to take a decision. “Appropriate action will be taken against him by the party soon,” he said. He also said that there were no plans to broaden the UDF.
The UDF was not overlooking the vote share of the BJP in the polls, the UDF convenor said. “The majority of the votes which had gone the BJP way was from the LDF pool. UDF votes have also been picked. Follow-up measures to stem the trend will be taken after analysing the booth-level voting pattern,” Thankachan said.
He charged that the CPM had not criticised the BJP even once during the Aruvikkara bypoll campaigning. “The LDF is following a policy of caressing the BJP,” the UDF blamed. The UDF also took strong exception to the statements of various CPM leaders that the UDF win was realised by treating the electorate with liquor and gifting money. “It is tantamount to humiliating the people of Aruvikkara on a whole,” he said.
The UDF meet directed the government to approach the Centre for measures to ensure voting rights for NRIs.
The Chief Minister was assigned with the task of filling the vacant deputy speaker’s post.